Fed adopts new thresholds and expands QE3

The Fed's adoption of numerical thresholds is, in practical terms, just a tweak in the framework used to signal how long it expects to leave short-term rates at near-zero. Based on the FOMC's new economic projections, the unemployment rate isn't expected to reach 6.5% until roughly mid-2015 anyway so, as noted in the statement, the new thresholds are "consistent with its earlier date-based guidance". The upshot is that, once the dust settles, the reaction in short-term Treasury yields should be muted.